This semester, my block 4 class is French. For this project we had to write a personal journal/diary as if we were our chosen historical figure. I chose to do Madame de Sévigné. Madame de Sévigné was an inspirational French author, known for the letters she wrote to her daughter Francois. Our goal for the Digital Learning aspect of this project was to learn and perfect the different parts and components of Canva.

Here is my diary that I made for this project:

Connecting Core Competencies: 

Throughout this project, I think I really used and capitalised on my Creative Thinking Core Competencies. One of the biggest parts of my French rubric was the creative aspect of my project. I had to come up with ways to incorporate photos, fun titles, and a handwritten aspect. We also had to try and show our chosen historical figure’s personality through our writing, as the assignment was to write the diary from their point of view.

Because we were using Canva as our platform, I got to be very creative and specific when it came to the details. I had a fun time experimenting with different fonts, themes, colour schemes, layouts, etc. I originally went with a blue theme, as I thought that was what would look the best, but after reviewing my final product, I realised that it didn’t properly represent my historical figure. I got to use my Creative Thinking Core Competencies by trying to find a colour that would properly represent her. I also had to chose a font that I believed would be accurate, but still easy for everyone to read. I really enjoyed being able to make my own creative additions to this project!

Learning from Digital Tools:

While I am quite comfortable using Canva, I was actually able to use the pro features for the first time this assignment. I really started to experiment with all of the filters available for the photos. I tried my best to make the photos look old, just like the rest of the presentation, by using the new filters that came with the pro version. I did have some difficulties however in finding the appropriate filters. There were a lot of different ones that made every photo look different. The filter could make one photo look old, and the other photo look very yellow. Those situations were hard because I then had to find a different filter that gave the same effect as the first filter, but worked on that specific photo. After many attempts, I think that I made all of the photos look equal.

Application in Other Courses:

I will always recommend Canva for any class presentation, poster, etc. I believe that Canva helps to elevate any project and take it to the next level. You can incorporate any criteria or theme from your assignment and make it go above and beyond expectations using different tools and templates. Canva allows you to have so many more creative possibilities that PowerPoint or Google slides, leaving you with more creative power. As you learn how to properly apply Canva, you can create engaging, interesting, creative, and different assignments that will make you stand out. Canva gives me resources to create my projects without making me feel overwhelmed or confused, and that is why I will continue to apply Canva in all of my courses